Row houses to be destroyed

Friday

KOPPEL - The charred remnants of the Richard Street row houses in Koppel, both an eyesore and potential safety hazard since an April fire, will come down, local officials say. Eventually.

The April 28 fire, ruled an arson by state police Fire Marshal Janice Wilson, left only the shell of a structure that she has deemed unsafe.

"It's structurally unsound," Wilson said. "Portions of it could cave in and people could fall through."

At Tuesday's council meeting, Fire Chief Mark Richner warned council members that the structure is a problem waiting to happen. He said property owners have removed salvageable scrap metals, such as steel and copper from the site, leaving open windows and doors.

"They vented the structure, leaving more air in," Richner said. "It (would) make the structure burn 10 times faster."

Should the structure catch fire again, Richner said, the department would be unable to put out the flames and neighboring homes could be in jeopardy.

The process of demolishing the building is under way, though it is a lengthy one.

Police Chief John DeLuca said council informed him after Tuesday's meeting that he was to send letters to the property owners stating they were in violation of the borough's dangerous structure ordinance.

DeLuca said that if there is no action within 30 days after receipt of the letter, those in violation would have to appear before council, where council members would recommend the building be demolished. If work then does not commence within 10 days, those still in violation would be fined $300 a day for up to 90 days. Property owners have up to 60 days to complete demolition.

If work does not commence after the 90-day period, the borough would take bids for the demolition and add 10 percent to the total cost to be paid by property owners, DeLuca said.

Richner said because the structure is an existing hazard, council should take emergency measures to have it taken down. "It should have been taken care of at the time of the fire," he said.

Councilman Skip Docchio said the borough should not have to spend the money to rectify the problem.

"We're not going to face the responsibility of moneys to take care of it," Docchio said. He said the row house owners should use the money from their insurance company to bring the building down.

Howard Hawrylak of 3305 Third Ave., across Richard Street and in front of the burned structure, said he's afraid someone will go into the structure and get injured.

"It will have to be torn down; It's a safety hazard," Hawrylak said.

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